Soft Touch
by Psychofilly
Summary: Angel and Cordy take the subway.


Title: Soft Touch  
  
By: Psychofilly  
  
Rating: PG (I know, It's a shocker!)  
  
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Mutant Enemy, Joss and Fox. I get nuthin but luv in payment for my writing.  
  
Sumary: Fluff piece. Spoilers up to end of season 3 but not really any big mentions. Angel and Cordy are heading home. May be a loosely related POV series in the future.  
  
  
  
Angel was sitting, but he wasn't very happy about it. It sort of messed with his eighteenth century sense of aesthetics to have her standing in front of him, thigh brushing his knee every time the car swayed while *he* sat in what had been the last available seat. Of course she didn't have a broken leg, or cracked ribs, or a shoulder that had been yanked out of joint a couple of times....  
  
Another night, another demon dead. He remembered a time when this all seemed easier, when their team wasn't always spread so thin. Gunn and Fred had been busy on their own case, still, battered body aside, the night had gone pretty well.  
  
Out of sheer necessity, Cordelia's skill at hand to hand combat had improved considerably. He looked up at the young woman standing in front of him. She was dead tired. While the subway was crowded with people heading for work, their day was long past due for being over. Her lower lip was a little puffy from where the demon had clipped her and there were dark smudges under her eyes that had nothing to do with the grime that covered them both. She was shivering...That was also the second time the little old lady sitting across the way had looked at him like he was the worlds biggest jackass.  
  
Great.  
  
Angel frowned. Cordelia had insisted he take the seat, and in his condition he wasn't about to argue. He thought about giving her his coat, but that meant standing, and he really, really didn't feel like getting up. Finally his tired brain hit upon a solution...He reached out, brushing his fingers over Cordelia's. Her head snapped around. As many times as he had held her post vision, as many times as they had been forced to support the other when injured, his touch was still a rare occurrence. She looked down and graced him with a tight, tired smile.  
  
Instead of withdrawing, he captured a couple of her fingers, gave them a little shake and pulled her towards him. She arched a brow, silently asking him what he was up too. With his free hand, he slowly pulled his black trench coat open.  
  
"What...You flashing me?" Was her wry response.  
  
Angel rolled his eyes. "You're freezing..."  
  
"And *you're* warm?" She snorted, giving his hand a good natured squeeze. He tugged at her arm. Seeing the uncertainty in her eyes, he wiggled his eyebrows and tried to look lecherous. Unfortunately he was too damn tired. She just laughed. "Well, I guess I wasn't exactly thinking about demon slayage when I picked this outfit." She relented.  
  
"Do you ever?" he teased as he eased her onto his lap. "I suppose a coat would have been a little too practical?"  
  
"My black leather is the only coat that looks decent with this shirt, and it's at the cleaners getting de-gooed."  
  
He pulled the edges of his coat up and around her shoulders, smoothing the lapel and wrapping her securely in the warm fabric.  
  
"It was bugging you that I was standing, wasn't it?"  
  
He shrugged, shifting underneath her until he was comfortable. "Yeah."  
  
"Angel." Her voice held reproach. "I don't need you to be chivalrous for me."  
  
The subway car lurched. Angel automatically grabbed her hip, steadying her. She stiffened under his touch, her heart rate jumped slightly, and she drew a sharp breath. Angel wondered if his seemingly old fashioned views really bugged her *that* much. "Fine, you can stand if you want. It's just I have the cool coat, and I thought...you know, and the old lady was eyeballing me, and it was making me nervous."  
  
Cordelia just shook her head, but she relaxed, settling onto his chest. "No, that was just token resistance, for the sake of modern womanhood...this is OK, almost cozy even."  
  
"Not bad, for a dead guy."  
  
"Pfft"  
  
"Thank you Angel?" He chided.  
  
Cordelia just sighed, her muscles seeming to melt against him her body molded itself against his. As cold as she was, she was still a lot warmer than him. He laid his head against the glass. They still had a ways to go but despite the obvious pain and the aching tiredness, he was surprisingly content.  
  
Cordelia's head lolled back against his shoulder, her face rolling inward to nestle against his neck. Her breathing began to even out. He circled his arms protectively around her waist. This was nice...Cordy, warm and real...a solid presence in his life.  
  
The old woman caught his eye and smiled. He wondered what they looked like through her eyes, she obviously was thinking they were a couple...The fact that she would make that assumption didn't bother him nearly as much as he thought it should.  
  
Cordelia thoughts of the warm fuzzy kind were a big no-no. Angel might be cuddly as far as vampires went but he had no illusions about his darker half. It was just that having Cordy close, both literally and figuratively felt so *right*. He caught himself, of late, reaching out to her only to draw back before she could notice. He wanted to hug her, almost wished for a little vision pain for an excuse to wrap himself around her...It was pathetic really. He couldn't offer her even half of what she deserved, and yet, he had the overwhelming desire to try.  
  
Therein would lie the road to his undoing, he was sure. Angel let his head drop, resting his chin on her shoulder and his temple against the crown of her head. It wasn't like he didn't know how to woo a woman, but Cordelia wasn't a woman, she was Cordy. She was his best friend, his guiding light towards his redemption, and one hell of an intimidating female...  
  
"What's with all the heavy thoughts?"  
  
Her voice was soft and dreamy, drugged by the warmth of their closeness and the gentle swaying of the car. "I thought you were asleep." He whispered in her ear.  
  
She smiled, soft skin sliding like silk across his cheek. "Mmmm, almost. What gives broody? I can practically feel you frowning."  
  
He turned to study her profile. She shivered as his hair tickled across her neck. His arms tightened around her waist. On impulse, he kissed her cheek. "I'll stop, O.K.?" She turned, draping her legs to the side, curling her arms into her body and snuggling deeper into his chest.  
  
"'K" She yawned and drifted contentedly to sleep. Angel reached up to stroke her hair, thought better of it, then let his hand drop.  
  
Angel woke with a start, only to find himself staring into a pair of sparkling hazel eyes. She was laughing at him.  
  
"Come on sleepyhead, this is our stop."  
  
He grinned sheepishly and then groaned as he tried to stand. His whole body ached, and though his leg wouldn't swell, he could feel the grate of bone on bone. She'd have to set his leg before they could sleep. "I feel old."  
  
She gave him her 'well duh' look. "Angel, your 249...what do you expect?"  
  
"I'm a vampire." He whispered.  
  
"Who had the shit kicked out of him tonight...come on."  
  
She offered her shoulder and together they staggered into the station and towards the service doors. On their way they passed by the escalators and Angel yelped as a small patch of sunlight from the street above came in contact with his skin. He limped away, shaking his hand and glaring at Cordy.  
  
"Do you think you can get me underground *before* you turn me into a crispy critter?" he groused. Immediately he wished he could take it back as he saw a brief flash of guilt in her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry Angel. I didn't see."  
  
Now *he* felt guilty. No one had ever looked out for him the way Cordelia did. She had all but given up the daylight for him and his mission, and he was acting petty.  
  
Cordelia turned and looked up into the early morning sunlight, lifting her face and closing her eyes. The light caressed her face like an old lover, plucking a string of longing close to his heart. For a moment Angel felt an surge of insane jealousy. She could walk up those stairs and into the daylight...into a whole world that he no longer knew anything about. He cursed his soul for craving the sun, for making him yearn so badly to change his very nature.  
  
Angel tried to swallow the bitterness he felt. "You should go...up there." He waved her towards the escalator. "I can meet you at your apartment."  
  
She faced him, and the light set her short highlighted hair ablaze, haloing her features.  
  
His resolve faltered. "You shouldn't...you don't...you might want to..." He stammered.  
  
Cordelia smiled and stepped out of the sunlight, wrapping her arm securely around his waist. "There's not a thing up there that I need" She spoke lightly, and as their gazes locked, her eyes told him the same truth. They reflected none of his anger, guilt or frustrations. Whatever she thought of her life, she'd accepted it's limitations...  
  
"I love you."  
  
For a moment Angel wasn't sure he'd actually said that out loud. Cordelia blinked once. He waited for her reaction, wondering how she'd take such a revelation...as a friendly declaration, or something much, much more. Either way, he realized, he wasn't going to take it back.  
  
She didn't say a word, only blushed slightly and held him a little tighter. It wasn't quite what he expected, but she hadn't gotten hysterical or violent. That had to be a good thing. Angel took one last look up the escalator. The old woman from the car had made her own slow trek across the station and up the escalator. She turned and took one last expectant look at them, as they stood in the shadows.  
  
Angel gave her the finger.  
  
"Angel!" Cordy swatted his hand down as she dragged him through the service doors. He grinned down at her, eyes mischievous, completely unapologetic.  
  
Cordelia tried to remain stern. "Was that really necessary?"  
  
"What!?!" Angel shrugged innocently. "She was giving me the stinkeye all the way home."  
  
"And flipping her off was *so* mature?" She huffed.  
  
Angel pulled open the grate and lowered himself carefully into the sewers. He reached up and placed steadying hands on Cordy's hips as she descended the dripping ladder. When she was safely on the ground he let her go and started down the familiar fork that lead to her apartment. His leg was killing him, but hanging all over Cordelia while crying like a baby-man just seemed a little too unmanly. He heard her steps falter and a muffled 'dammit' behind him. He chuckled to himself and backtracked, until he saw her staring down at yet another ruined pair of shoes.  
  
She stuck her lip out into a petulant pout. "It's *not* funny!" She slapped his arm, making him laugh, in spite of her mini-tantrum. She punched his shoulder with her sharp little fist. "Laugh it up, but you owe me a new pair of Jimmy Choo's." He captured her hand, before she could do him any more harm, and slowly brought it to his lips, placing the lightest of kisses on her knuckles. He then pulled her to his side and draped his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"I won't let you fall again." His voice was soft but serious.  
  
She searched his face in the murky light. Her features were still twisted into a peeved scowl and he fought the urge to pull her flush and kiss her breathless. She harumphed.  
  
"You just want a convenient crutch."  
  
He leaned on her, staggering her a bit under his weight. "True, but if you fall again, I get yucky too."  
  
"I didn't fall, O.K.. I just tripped..." She looked up into his amused eyes, which only seemed to make her thoroughly disgusted with him. "Whatever!"  
  
They started forward, Cordy grunting a little under his weight. "Come on Cor, put your back into it."  
  
"Can you see this?"  
  
"Now Cordy is flipping me the bird the *mature* thing to do?"  
  
" "  
  
"O.K. Cor, I get the point. You don't have to wave it in my face." 


End file.
